Seventy-Sixth Year EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS here Opinions Are Free, 420 MAYNARD ST., ANN ARBOR, MICH. NEWS PHONE: 764-0552 Truth Will PrevailN Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. SDS Convention: Toward What Ends? By BETSY TURNER A week long marathon with quiet and not-so-quiet discussions on women's rights, aid to desert- ing servicemen, and war opposi- tion characterized the National Convention of Students for a Democratic Society held here 10 days ago. The convention started off with the usual plethora of workshops. verbal interchanges, and wordy explanations which mark all con- ventions and especially those held by SDS. Mass meetings began the third day and continued for five days, with attendance varying from 50 to over 200, and sessions some- times lasting until 3 a.m. Televi- sion cameras and bright flood lights filled the hall during one hour of discussion concerning the draft, as CBS newsmen filmed a segment of the proceedings for a TV special on the "New Left" to be shown next fall. THE DRAFT discussion pro- ceeded like many of the others- numerous resolutions were pre- sented, hashed over and usually accepted only in part. The con- vention body seemed interested in endorsing stands concerning cur- rent controversial topics-the war, civil rights, and the draft prom- inent among them-but was more reluctant to propose and ratify specific implementations. As a re- sult, much was left over for "in- vestigation and consideration sometime in the future." Factions is another term fa- miliar to anyone who has attend- ed an SDS function, if only for a short while. Professed Anarchists, Trotskyites, and Marxists were intermingled with the less rigidly ideological majority. And, as Eric Chester, a member of Voice Poli- tical Party pointed out several times during the proceedings, po- litical discussion and clarification of stands were rare. Another strong faction - the radical women-were present al- though in somewhat smaller num- bers than their male counterports. The complaint they voiced stated that the position held by the fe- male sex in this country and also in the "movement" as well, is comparable to that held by slaves in a colonial system. The question they possessed was: are the men in the "movement" going to recognize this both in DAY, JULY 12, 1967 NIGHT EDITOR: JOHN GRAY THe Draft and the War: Twisting National Purpose UNDER THE BIG 500-watted lamps, in the huge sawdusted government inspected slaughter-house, head down from hooks and clamps, run on trolleys over troughs, the ani- mals die. Whatever terror their dull intelligences feel or what agony distorts their most protruding eyes the incommunicable narrow skulls conceal. Across the sawdusted floor, ignorant as children, they see the butcher's slow methodical approach in the bloodied apron, leather cap above, thick square shoes below, struggling to comprehend this unique vision upside down, and then approximate a human scream as from the throat lit like a letter the blood empties and the windpipe, like a blown valve, spurts steam. But I, sickened equally with the ox and lamb, misread my fate, mistake the butcher's love who kills me for the meat I am to feed a hungry multitude beyond the sliding doors. I, too, misjudge the real purpose of this huge shed I'm herded in: not for my love or lovely wool am I here, but to make some world a meal. See, how on the unsubstantial air I kick, bleating my private woe, as upside down my rolling sight somersaults, and frantically I try to set my world upright; too late learning why I'm hung here, whose nostrils bleed, whose life runs out from eye and ear. -The Slaughter-House by Alfred Hayes As the draft calls for the coming months mount in order to feed the mills of the Viet Nam war, a great many young men between the ages of 19 and 26, those both in and out of the sanctity of higher education, will feel much the same as Hayes' sheep. Perhaps for those who ex- peet nothing more than the butcher block and the Oscar Meyer label, the inverted kicks into unsubstantial air will not be as vehement as those of the more "pa- triotic cuts. In either case, a Texas bar- becue is not eagerly anticipated by the Hereford. Attempts to reform "Universal Mili- tary Training" from its relationship with the stockyards have resulted in Rep. L. Mendel Rivers' version of equal justice. As embodied in the new draft plan, which President Johnson signed into law the other week, the system of selection is less just, less predictable, more arbitrary, more capricious, more, worrisome and more disrupting to the lives of all those facing conscription. With the discretion of the age of selection and the criteria for exemption remaining in the hands of the local draft boards, the circum- stances which would order a particular individual's selection can appear as de- terminable as those forces which might dictate the random collision of two par- ticular molecules. Yet, the random colli- sion of two molecules is a process which is almost exactly as it implies-a purely chance happening. In the seeming chaos of the Selective Service procedure in the United States, however, there is a very subtly woven web of order. It is the order under which the population lived in Hit- ler's Germany. JT WAS SHORTLY after 1940 that the Gestapo began selecting members of the population by pure chance. These unfortunates were summarily tried and executed for whatever acts of treason the government was able to fabricate. At first, the country at large thought that the apprehended suspects were in fact guilty of betraying the war effort and were destined for a deserved end. As the arrests continued into 1942 and 1943 on a much wider scale, strong waves of popular resentment and defience began to emerge. When the arrests began touching close to home, the German public began to realize that they were merely cruel acts of repression. But by that time there was nothing that could be done. The protests were mercilessly beaten back. The defiant were executed along with the unlucky. The acts of protest grew more infrequent as the sporadic outbursts were met with ruthless reprisal. The ar- rests continued ever more massively un- til, one day, the public no longer protest- ed. They no longer resented. They ac- cepted the arrests as merely a natural course of life. If the Reich saw fit to re- move a man from his home and execute him without cause, then this was just a natural phenonemon which was ,accept- ed without question. The public's total and unquestioning obedience to the will of the state had been formed. Such brainwashing need not, be ac- companied by executions and a Gestapo. It can occur more subtly. The re- sult would be the same. Anything which would be imposed in the name of the state would be accepted. Ignorance is happiness. War is peace. Hate is love. HISTORIAN Henry Steele Commager, when questioned on his views of the draft, replied that, "The greatest tragedy of this Vietnam thing is not so much the deleterious effects upon world stability. By global standards, American action is not yet fatal to the precarious situa- tion of equilibrium. The effects of the war which trouble me more keenly are those changes being wrought upon the American society itself. National mood has come to accept napalming and bomb- ing as pursuits toward peace. We have come to view military juntas as conducive to desired stability. We have come to view our own instincts of personal inde- pendence and reluctant judgment as the greatest 'impediments' of national pur- pose." John Mason Brown has expressed some doubt whether such instincts are compat- ible with an age of total technology. Others feel that such manipulations of national psychology are inevitable and need not cause alarm. On a larger aspect, such placid acceptance is either the re- sult of a lack of understanding or a be- lief in the practical application of de- terminism. As it concerns the system of Selective Service, this mood of pessimism. is probably an exaggeration. A solution lies less in the realm of abstract analysis and formulation, and more properly on the side of practical resistance. The draft must be explained to the public in its true light. The implications for social control and repression must be examined. If a stockyards approach to military con- scription is to be avoided, the proponents of the present system must be cast under the cold probing light of public scrutiny. Survival of the nation state through im- pingements upon "the fundamental core of liberty," whether in fact or in law, must not form the core of national habit. -DAN HOFFMAN Peace Appeal SHE FOLLOWING LETTER, sent by Ed- ward Harvey, was published in "El Gaucho," the newspaper at the Univer- sity of California at Santa Barbara: "In view of the present domestic and foreign situation, we wish to voice our personal endorsement of a recent state- ment by four-star General David M. Shoup, former commandant of the Ma- rine Corps: I don't think the whole of Southeast Asia is worth the life or limb of a single American... "' We believe that if we had and would i I s# l M . '' _ ."- -- . ^.. .. w-. ;r, * , " themselves and in the society, and do something about it? As preface to their program for liberation, a short analysis pre- senting this position appeared. Included was a statement reading: "The following analysis of the women's role came out of the women's liberation workship; as such it cannot be changed and is therefore not open to discussion or debate." After the analysis was present- ed, the "sister," acting as spokes- man for the women's group, would not recognize any of the "broth- ers" who wanted to comment on this analysis-and chiefly defend the male side. Bickering prevailed, and final- ly, after some name calling, the brothers and sisters, decided - mainly the brothers since they held the majority of votes-not to endorse, as an SDS statement, the analysis, but rather to con- demn it as well to further com- mittee investigation. AFTER DEFEATING the analy- sis, a program for liberation was discussed and finally passed. It in- cluded: "indiscriminate distribu- tion of birth control information and devices, and complete avail- ability of medical abortion for all women who desire it." Another part of the ;proposal which roused considerable booing and hissing reaction read: "until technology and automation which will eliminate the work necessary to maintain a home, every adult person living in the household will have to assume an equal share of the work." This program like many others ratified during the seven days, was noble, and done in good spirit. However, good intentions are not enough to change a society which has so thoroughly perfected pres- ent attitudes and moral codes, and which has functioned effectively with these codes. Similar statements--ones con- taining strong, left declarations with no provision for implementa- tion-dominated the remaining list of convention accomplish- ments. A statement demanding imme- diate withdrawal from Vietnam did not even require discussion. It was passed by a unanimous voice vote. What steps are going to be taken to make this statement and ones like it, into real programs, not just words, have yet to be formhlated. "WE WILL ALSO aid in oppo- sition and disruption within the Army," reads another declaration. Again the same question comes to mind. How? What tactics will be used? What kind of organiza- tion is necessary? When and how will this disruption take place? "Aid will be given to service- men who wish to terminate their association with the Army by joining the underground." This statement, another product of the convention, is forceful, but when these particular servicemen seek such aid, where will they go, who will they contact? Another ques- tion of plan rather than policy- and also a question left unanswer- ed. A resolution concerning mili- tant civil rights groups stated clearly in its contents that it did not intend to present a program. The resolution read: "In defend- ing and supporting Student Non- Violent Coordinating Committee and the Revolutionary Action Movement, SDS chapters areurg- ed to cooperate and aid those, groups in whatever manner they request." Although this statement cannot be accused of leaving a plan unimplemented since it ex- plicitly leaves the action neces- sary to each local chapter, the worth of the statement is dubious. It presents a stand, but provides no concrete basis of support for either of these groups-SNCC or RAM-to call upon if the need arose. IF THE PURPOSE was to swap views and provide an arena for lively, meaningful debate, this was, for the most part, left unfulfilled. If the purpose was to set up ef- fective national programs con- cerning key issues -- a purpose denied by most-this was not even approached. The only question left is what was the purpose of this gathering and why was it not car- ried out? The convention, however, was orderly for the most part and ran smoothly. Several proposals, reit- erating stands already attributed to the New Left were. put in reso- lution form. Everyone went home with an additional folder of pam- phlets and handouts after a week of little sleep. Not much else really happened. It can only be said that the merits of SDS as an active, productive, radical organization will have to be judged by what happens in the coming year on college campuses throughout the nation, not on what transpired from June 25 to July 2. I4 4 j f "Now wihat the hell do we do with a U.N. building . . ." .. . r. . . . ... ..................................... .. ... ......... .*.*... * .r.. M ... r,. . . n.r....... ....'... . . . . . . . n. , .. .. . . . America s Piecemeal Approach to Crime By ANN MUNSTER America's attempts to cope with her crime problem have always been inadequate because they have always been piecemeal-stimulated by individual incidents and focus- ing on the superficial, rather than the more deep-rooted, causes of crime. The President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administra- toi of Justicehas just completed its 2-year investigation. The com- mission's research has resulted in ten publishedrvolumes totaling more than 2 million words. It is the most complete work ever done in the area of law enforcement and forms the basis of 200 recom- mendations made by the Presi- dent's 19-member commission. Americans have traditionally been content to attack only the symptoms of their society's more fundamental problems and to fa- bricate catchy labels such as "juvenile delinquent" and "sexual psychopath" to shield themselves from the necessity of facing the larger picture. The President's commission marks a forward step only because it offers more en- lightened methods of law enforce- ment and, ways of alleviating the conditions which give rise to crime among particular groups. Amerca's crime problem is not, as most of her citizens would like to think, a fringe issue-confined to a minority of deviant or dis- turbed individuals who can easily be cured 'with the coming of the Great Society. Its roots are deeply embedded in her culture and ex- tend far into the past-from the early pirates, the smugglers of he Revolutionary period, the gangs of the early nineteenth century; the city mobs of New York and San Francisco, arising out of ethnic friction, poverty, and the crude politics of the early metropolises; the highwaymen and gamblers of the Old West, and the frontier gangs. These groups, although they are probably the most glamorous, are not the only manifestation of the criminality which is deeply en- demic to American culture. It has been estimated that 90 per cent of all Americans commit serious of- fenses of one kind or another in their lives, and yet most of them are considered useful citizens. Per- haps this widespread disregard for law and extensive history of extra- legal activity indicates a basic flaw more subtle injustices that are perpetrated every day. This moral hypocrisy is bolster- ed by the American success creed, which glorifies achievement at the expense of scruples. The ends- means confict leads many, par- ticularly disadvantaged, young people to feel that the most logi- cal, if not the only, path to suc- cess is crime. The careei's of lead- ing gangsters are evidence of an acute sense of frustration at work- ing through regular channels, closed to them by the weight of advantages they do not enjoy. And it is absurd to speak of equal op- portunity for ghetto residents. Attitudes conducive to crime are so widespread in our society that organized crime has grown to be the nation's second largest indus- try, after government, and is in- deed a pillar of many communi- ties. Recently it has even been cleverenough to take on a protec- tive covering of respectability, and has infiltrated legitimate busi- nesses. And the phenomenon of the "white collar criminal" - the otherwise non-criminal citizen who breaks the law in pursuit of his legitimate and often respect- able profession,nisdalso widespread. These individuals, who are above the poverty line and whose adjust- ment to society has been saisfac- tory-perhaps too satisfactory- defy the sociologists' usual ex- planations in terms of deprivation, poor upbringing, and psychological inadequacy. ORGANIZED CRIME in this country is nourished by its ability to carry out the American success credo, about as well as most legi- timate enterprises. And they make super-abundant and highly effici- ent use of the most proven Amer- ican means for achieving success -centralization and hierarchy. With the vast majority of inde- pendent criminals in various areas driven out of business, organized of high public demand for service, crime is perpetrated quite actively by groups called "families," oper- ating as criminal cartels in large cities. Families are efficiently organ- ized "corporations" designed to "maximize profits" and to protect the members, particularly the leadership from law enforcement. Unlike previous criminal gangs, these groups resemble modern corporations in that they are read- ily able to withstand personnel each "family" is not only a busi- ness, but a government. And the political implications of their gov- ernmental activities for the rest of society are great-for today's corruption is more subtle than ever before, and the growing im- portance of government in reg- ulating private and business activ- ity, if -exerted by corrupt forces, has given them much more control over matters effecting the average citizen. CRIMINALS HAVE not only been tolerated and even integrated into our system, they have been accepted and approved of by some groups in America as devices for social control-for example, the Ku Klux Klan and the lynch mobs of the South. And themethods of organized crime are certainly not foreign to the law enforcement agencies. The ruthless pursuit of criminals is often conducted with the same tactics the gangsters themselves use. For example, the Attorney General of the U.S. once ordered an illegal deportation in an attempt to apprehend a New Orleans underworld figure. And recent mass arrests of underworld captainsin a New York restaurant was later condemned by the courts. Illegal searches and seizures are probably more dangerous to the public safety than police con- nivancewith organized crime, and when law enforcement agencies adopt gangster methods, it is dif- ficult to discern that anyone is safeguarding the public interest. This is no less true in the U.S. to- day than it was in Nazi Germany or Stalin's Russia, neither of which claimed to be a haven from police brutality or arbitrary ar- rest. Despite the fact that the differ- ence between gangsters and their pursuers is sometimes difficult to discern, the passions of many well meaning citizens have been arous- ed over the issue. Indeed a strange alliance of God-fearing men and criminal syndicates has sprung up since Prohibition. And in some areas these groups have actually banded together to try to legis- lative morality, each for their own purposes. People like Mayor La Guardia and New York state's governor Thomas Dewey have been swept into office and crown- ed with fame for anticrime pro- grams which were doomed in the face of massive public demand for the services of crime. Lack of unanimus public con- demnation of some of the vices upon which organized crime thrives has made the law enforce- ment weak, uncertain, and spo- radic. The "piecemeal" approach- the juxtaposition of certain liberal Supreme Courtdecisions with tougher "stop, and frisk" laws renders a uniform code of law enforcement difficult if not out of the question. In fact, crime statistics indicate that "tough" approaches, which violate the Constitution, generally lead to an increase in crime. Ac- cording to the A.C.L.U., the Los Angeles police department has fre- quently violated prohibitions on il- legal searches and seizures, with- out achieving any decrease in the, crime rate. By contrast, the Speck murder trial was handled compe- tently by the Chicago police with- out any violation of rights. A GROWING disillusionment with the traditional American standards and the traditional American ruthless pursuit of them is evidenced by the protests of the new generation and their toler- ance of a wide variety of illegal activities. Enforced conformity has generally only stimulated rebellion and lawlessness, especially in mat- ters of morals, and we subsidize the underworld with our hypo- crisy. Laws with limited and real- istic aims, Justly and consistently enforced, may serve the cause of higher moral standards better than alternating moralistic re- form legislation and periods of abandon. Although there is, increasing evidence that slum life generates a body of norms and values which are conducive to criminal beha- viour, we must not be led by the buoyant optimism of social re- formers to overlook the dichotomy in the larger culture, of which the meaninglessness which the slum subculture sees in the American dream is only a reflection. Any ex- pression of physical violence, no matter for what ideal it is deliver- ed, conveys to its recipient the fundamental lesson that power governs the universe. Letters to the Editor Israel and Arabs In re Mr. Imad Khadduri arti- cle: "The Palestinian Problem: The Arab View," it seems to me that several of the statements and facts, which were brought in or- der to strengthen the writer's conviction that peace would not be attained in the Middle East until Israel would return to its state in the beginning of the 20th century, bears some comment. 1. Multiple repetition of a cer- tain statement does not make it more true, although it sounds very convincing. The "ruthless acts of terrorism" which caused the past and present flight of Arab refugees exist mainly in countries and did not want to lose their source of income. 2. Stating that Israel is "nec- essarily expansionistic" has no fact to be based upon. The Is- raeli government has stated time and again that its only wish is to live peacefully with all its neighbors. The June 5th war was forced upon Israel by the amassing of Arab armies along the borders and by the closing of the Gulf of Aqaba. I wonder at what stage of hostilities would Mr. Khadduri change his term- inology from-Israeli aggressive expansionism to-self defense; I hope that resisting Egyptian army units in the outskirts of Tel Aviv would be named "self refugee camps, would be taught to hate and dread Israel. The Arab students abroad, being the future policy makers in educa- tion, can do a lot in order to change this deplorable situation. 4. I find the statement that the value systems of Arab and Zionism are opposed, a bit odd, since faster rate of progress, welfare of the people and rapid modernization are Israel's goals as well as those of the Arab nations as stated by the writer. This can only lead to the obvious conclusion that peace as well as solution to the refugee prob- lem can be achieved in the Mid- dle East by the people and na- tions involved without interfer- 1 4r lAjjjuj Z Daily The Daily is a member of the Associated Press and Collegiate Press Service. Summer subscription rate: $2.00 per term by carrier ($2.50 by mail); $4.00 for entire summer ($4.50 by mail). Daily except Monday during regular academic school year. Daily except Sunday and Monday during regular